Bringing Two Together
by Ethia
Summary: Sasuke is back in the village and Naruto can sense that he and Sakura have feelings for each other, yet neither of them are making a move for it! He'll just have to bring them together.


**Disclaimer: I don't own any of this and I'm not trying to sell any of it.**

**AN: This story is for Dr. Sexy who brought me up to 99 reviews **

**The Doctor's story idea: **_**My idea for a one shot would be a sasusaku story about like naruto setting up Sasuke and Sakura up on a blind date. **_

**I hope you enjoy this Doctor of Sexiness :D**

_xxxxx_

**Bringing Two Together**

**xxxxx**

Sakura stood along the wall of the Hokage tower within the heart of Konoha. She peered over her shoulder, past the rounding wall, her breath catching as she watched Sasuke and Naruto leave the main entrance. _'Sasuke-kun.'_ She thought to herself as the boys walked away from the building, probably to go spar or eat or something that she wouldn't be involved in. She gripped the books she had with her, hugging them to her body as she clenched her jaw and fought back tears.

She leaned fully on the wall, desperately trying to fight her feelings. Sakura needed to train and learn. With a long inhale and exhale of air she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and forced herself off the wall and towards the tower entrance. _'There's no time for things like that.'_ She told herself as she set the books down on a table and took a seat.

"Sakura-san, have you learned the technique yet?" Shizune asked; rushing into the room Sakura had just taken a seat in.

"No, I just found the books and scrolls," Sakura said with an air of superiority in her voice. "Give me half an hour and I'll have it down. If the patient begins bleeding profusely then you'll need to perform a standard healing technique until I can get to you."

"Yes ma'am. That will take a lot of chakra though…" Shizune said.

"You can do it and it will be fine if you switch between people," Sakura said, opening one of her books to the back pages and scanning through the index. She found the article she wanted and began panning through the pages. "Go Shizune-san, the patient is losing time."

"Yes ma'am," Shizune said and departed from the room hurriedly, leaving Sakura the cruel task of memorizing a new technique in a matter of minutes from the variety of reading materials she had found.

After the Tobi/Madara incident Sakura had proven herself to be an incredible Medic Ninja. Her trainer, Tsunade, and her friends and close colleagues were already aware of this but her performance on the field had earned her promotion to Head Medic. Sakura was now in charge of all the Medical Ninjas and was no longer required to go on missions unless they were of upmost importance.

This meant that she wasn't a member of either Team Kakashi or Team Yamatō. Instead Yamatō was given a fresh squad of ninja's right out of the academy, and Kakashi continued to be in charge of Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke; the new Team Seven.

She hardly ever saw them anymore, though, it wasn't unusual for Naruto to come by and visit her.

**xxxxx**

Sasuke was insistent about going to his clan's old whereabouts. He walked to the familiar dock next to the small lake that his clan surrounded, Naruto keeping up in stride.

"That was an awesome mission wasn't it?" Naruto said; a large grin spread across his face.

"Hnn," Sasuke said in agreement.

As they walked onto the dock, Naruto grew serious. "I know this isn't necessarily what you wanted, coming back here and all, but isn't there anything that could make you happy?"

Sasuke stood at the end of the dock silently. The wind picked up and lightly brushed past their hair, spreading the top of the lake around as they stood beside each other on the dock.

"Do you want to fight?" Naruto asked but Sasuke continued to look across the lake, caught up in the time he had first learned his Fire-Ball Jutsu. "How about some ramen then?"

Sasuke's stomach rumbled on cue and the two of them turned back and headed towards Ichiraku Ramen.

As they walked through the village again, Naruto pointed out a fancy looking restaurant. "Have you ever been to one of those?"

"A few times," Sasuke said. "Why?"

"Hinata's dad asked me to eat dinner with him there so that we can discuss my future with his daughter… or something. I'm kind of nervous that I'm going to mess something up," Naruto explained.

"You're in line to be the next Hokage. There isn't a lot you can do to mess up. Having the first born of the Hyuga family marry the Hokage is a very profitable idea for him, you'll be fine," Sasuke said.

"I know that but I just—" Naruto said.

"Damnit dobe do you have to be a dunce at everything? Fine I'll eat there with you sometime to show you the ropes."

"Thanks," Naruto said roughly as they sat along the bar at the ramen shop.

After an abundance of noodles the two parted ways; Sasuke heading to his apartment and Naruto heading to Hinata's to say 'hi' for a minute before going to his own apartment.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto yelled loudly outside of Hinata's window.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said, opening the window and jumping out. She had become slightly rambunctious from dating Naruto. Her hair was a few inches longer and she had ditched her baggy Capri's for short-shorts; much to the chagrin of her father. Hinata was still overall shy though and continued to where a baggy jacket to cover her still-growing breasts.

"Hinata," Her father's voice yelled from a few feet away. He was standing on the wooden deck that surrounded their house. "That is not how the heir of the Hyuga Clan should behave."

"Sorry father," Hinata said briskly. She grabbed Naruto's hand and ran off with him, as far away from her father as possible.

"It's so weird seeing you act like that to your father," Naruto said once they had come to a stop at a bench sitting in front of a field of flowers.

"I just… I kind of resent him at the moment," Hinata admitted. She had finally gotten over the stutter she had in front of Naruto; in fact, the more she was around him the stronger of a person she was becoming. "Hanabi was always the heir but now that I'm dating you all of a sudden he's finally making the oldest the heir; not because I deserve it but because of politics. It seems selfish and wrong."

"You don't regret going out with me do you?" Naruto said.

"Never!" She had been looking at the flowers but now Hinata was staring at him. "I just feel sorry for Hanabi. She was looking forward to being the Head of the Family."

"Well then make her proud that it's you now. We can train every day until you become even stronger than your father ever dreamed. That'll show the old man!" Naruto said. "And I'll train to be more respectable. I even have a date with Sasuke so he can teach me how to eat at fancy restaurants. You know how fancy he is." Hinata and Naruto started laughing profusely at Naruto's joke.

"You didn't have to ask Sasuke. I could help you too you know," Hinata said once they had calmed down.

"I suppose you're right," Naruto said, a hand on Hinata's leg as he leaned in to kiss her. She wore the short-shorts for this reason. She loved feeling his warmth on her skin.

**xxxxx**

"How would you like a break from the hospital?" Tsunade asked Sakura when she came to check-in in the morning.

"I have to work Tsunade-sama; I can't take a day off," Sakura said.

"Not a day off; a break from the hospital. Kakashi is out sick and his team needs a fourth member."

"Oh… Well I suppose if you'd like me to I can," Sakura said as the door to the Hokage's office opened and Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke walked inside.

"Great," Tsunade said. She directed herself to the boys next. "Kakashi is out today so Sakura will be filling in. Now… who to make the leader…"

"Naruto," Sasuke said. "Since the dobe here is so insistent on being Hokage this will be great experience for him."

"Okay Naruto, you're the team leader. Head out," Tsunade said.

The four of them started heading out of the building; Naruto and Sasuke in the lead and Sakura and Sai taking up the end.

"Thanks for voting me team leader," Naruto said to Sasuke.

"It was my pleasure Hokage-chan," Sasuke said; a smirk on his face.

"Temee!" Naruto yelled as they drew nearer to the large doors that opened up the village to the outside.

"You're awfully quiet today," Sai said to Sakura.

"Just thinking," Sakura mumbled back. She was trying to be quiet enough to not catch Naruto's attention but it was too late.

"Sakura-chan, isn't it awesome that we get to go on a mission again?" Naruto said.

"Yea," Sakura said; she was trying to sound happy and energetic but it came out sounding forced instead. Sasuke looked back at her for a second and she turned away from his gaze, determined to keep looking at Naruto. "What's the mission anyway? Tsunade-sama didn't get the chance to inform me before you arrived."

Naruto noticed the awkwardness between Sasuke and Sakura but chose to ignore it. "There's a small village that's being ransacked by some rogue ninjas periodically. We were given the mission a few months ago but the rogue's had already been through by the time we arrived so we're going there early this time."

"I see," Sakura said. "Okay then."

"Naruto I would appreciate it if we could get there before night fall," Sasuke said; butting into their conversation.

"You just want to see that girl at the restaurant again," Sai said with a smile. Sasuke glared at him so Sai corrected himself. "Or maybe it was the boy at the restaurant."

"Knock it off perv," Sasuke snapped.

"Yeah Sai, it's not his fault he's got both girls _and_ guys drooling over him everywhere he goes. Life with Orochimaru was probably really—," Naruto said.

"You shut up to Hokage-chan!" Sasuke yelled.

"Don't call me that temee!" Naruto yelled back.

"Hoka-chan?" Sasuke said mockingly.

They nearly began to brawl when Sakura's laughing interrupted them. Sasuke grunted and began ignoring the group, his arms folding against each other on his chest.

Sakura's expression dropped a fraction but she quickly retained her composure. "It's nice to see you two acting like friends again," she said.

"Aw Sakura that never stopped," Naruto said sincerely.

"I think that if we don't take off soon Princess Sasuke will be upset. He's anxious to get to his prince after all," Sai said.

Before Sasuke could snap at Sai, the others agreed, and at once the group went from a steady walk to a lightning fast run across the path that led them out of the Land of Fire. After a few miles they curved off the path and leapt onto the lower branches of the trees that surrounded them; jumping their ways into the canopy of the forest and dashing deeper into the never-ending bush.

After several hours the sun was finally on the verge of setting, but the group had neared the outskirts of their destination. They descended from the canopy as the forest thinned, and then hurried through the new path that had formed around the village; slowing their pace as they neared the buildings. Without a falter of breath or a skip of the heart, the four of them walked towards a dinky inn; none of them had been tired by the long run.

"The ninja's are back…"

"Where's Kakashi-san?"

"Who's that girl?"

They heard murmurs from the villagers as they crossed the market place and entered into the inn.

"Sasuke-kun!" A girl squealed from behind a counter. She raced in front of the group, eager for Sasuke's attention.

"Sasuke?" A boy's voice called from around a corner. From a hall, a young man emerged, also eager for Sasuke's attention.

"Um, is it okay if the four of us get a room?" Naruto said, trying his best to get the boy's and girl's attention.

After several minutes of Sasuke ignoring everything and sulking with frustration, Sakura scowling from the unnecessary attention Sasuke was receiving, and Sai smiling with genuine pleasure from the situation and not being any help at all, Naruto was finally able to get the inn workers to direct his group to a room. The group shared a small room together, much to the irritation of the inn workers who didn't want to see Sasuke sleeping beside anyone; male or female.

"The last time we showed up the rogues had heard we were coming and that's way they were able to come through before we got here," Sai explained to Sakura, who was wondering why it was necessary to get to the village so fast.

"It's actually a three day trip if you just walk here, so we speculate that if they have heard we were coming then they should be here about…" Naruto was saying but couldn't remember the rest.

"Tonight," Sasuke finished. It was the first thing he had said to Sakura since after the war. She nodded her head at him and then the others. "Alright, then let's do this."

Sakura and Naruto quickly changed into tighter, darker outfits that had hoods for them to place atop their vibrant hair; Sasuke and Sai had no need to since they naturally wore dark clothes and had black hair. Afterwards the four of them put on masks that Sai had obtained from the Anbu.

They sneaked out of their room's window and scoured through the village, positioning themselves tactfully so that, together, they could watch every way possible into the small village. An hour or so went by, the night fully upon them now, when Sakura caught sight of the rogue ninjas. A group of eight, who had obviously been hiding in the shadows, began creeping onto the roads within the town. Logic told her that if the rogues had been hiding within the shadows all day, then they were aware that she and the others were in the village.

She hooted like an owl. It embarrassed her but she put those feelings aside to inform her teammates of her discovers. Three hoots to signal that she had found their targets. Two hoots to inform them that the ninjas were aware of their presence. Four hoots to alleviate that the rogues weren't aware of her position.

In the distance to her left she heard two soft hoots from Sai's direction; he had heard her message. To her right she heard the conformational hoots of Sasuke. Then, towards the far side of the village, she heard a tantalizing _roar_ from Naruto.

'_Darn it Naruto! What's going on?'_ She thought. She turned her head a fraction to look in the direction of his roar. Red chakra was sweeping and flickering around in the night. _'Do you really need to use the Kyuubi?'_ She wondered. Maybe these rogues were stronger then they had thought. She turned back to the group she had noticed, but they weren't there anymore. _'Crap!'_

Now on guard, Sakura pulled out a kunai and stabilized herself on her spot on the roof. She concentrated and listened carefully to every bump and breath within the dark night; a new moon failing to aid her in lighting up the dimness and Naruto's growls and snarls tempting her to lose focus. Then a step against the roof's tile. Another step, closer to her and from the same direction. Quietly, Sakura drew in air and then turned in time to parry her opponent's sword. A large shadow-figure of a man swung again and again; faster than Sakura assumed he'd be able to. She met his sword with her kunai and paused only briefly to grab another kunai and deflect against a second attacker.

They swung at her over and over and simply meeting their blades with her own was all she could do to dodge; they gave her no time to focus her chakra and she wasn't sure she should be knocking down houses anyway. She saw an opening and threw her kunai, quickly grabbing two more as her opponents deflected them and continued their assault. Then another opening and Sakura attempted a kick, only to have her leg ensnared by a wire trap that a third rogue had set up. _'Where was he… she… it… even hiding!?'_ Sakura thought as she tried to cut the wire with her kunai. Before she could get blade to wire, her arms were grabbed and pulled behind her back.

The large shadow-figure that had first initiated the attack brought his sword back and then lunged forward, driving the blade through Sakura's body. She coughed and hacked until blood flew out of her mouth. The large man was about to rip the sword out of the side of her body but became distracted by the sound of birds' chirping echoing through the village and bouncing off the roof tops. He found the source of the sound, coming from a dazzling lightening display a few houses away. Before the attackers could refocus on Sakura, they were taken aback when the light suddenly vanished, and then reappeared behind them.

Sasuke unleashed his Chidori, stunning all of them until they fell down unconscious. He took one look at Sakura, grabbed the sword's handle, and pulled it back out of her body. Sakura shuddered and then began healing herself.

"There were ten of them total," Sasuke said. "We underestimated their strength but at the same time they weren't _that _strong." Sakura blinked at him so he further explained. "I had to assist both you and Sai, but they weren't so strong that Naruto actually needed to use the Kyuubi's power. The dobe just overestimated with that one guy."

Once Sakura had finished healing herself, the four of them took another look through the village, now that they were aware of the enemy's power level. After not finding anyone else, they decided to forgo sleeping in the inn and returned home, bringing their captives with them.

Sasuke and Naruto volunteered Sai to have the _honor_ of bringing their captives to the prison, so while he did that, the other reported to Tsunade and then went back to their separate apartments.

**xxxxx**

"Oi! We have a new mission!" Sasuke yelled outside Naruto's bedroom window. It had been a few days since their journey to the town with Sakura, and Naruto was sure they were supposed to be having the day off. He rolled out of bed and fell towards his window; grabbing hold of the windowsill and heaving himself up groggily.

"Another one?" He said; his voice heavy and cracking from the sleep and from thirst. He rubbed his eyes as he waited for a sarcastic answer from Sasuke, or from Sai or Kakashi who were standing with him.

"Duh dobe, get dressed," Sasuke snapped.

Naruto dropped from the windowsill and stared at his ceiling until he mustered up enough motivation to stand up and stretch. He had gone through this far too many times and had known by now that despite any promises his team might make, they would not stop so that he could get breakfast. After boiling water, he filled a cup of ramen, and then got dressed, collected his gear, and took care of any needs he had with his bathroom before grabbing the ramen and some chopsticks, and heading outside.

It wasn't the most polite thing to do but if his only way of eating breakfast was going to be on the go then he was going to do it. They walked into the Hokage's tower and to Tsunade's office, surprised to meet Sakura there.

"Long time, no see, Sakura," Kakashi said as they entered the office.

"Oh, hey Kakashi sensei," Sakura said. She caught sight of Sasuke and her gaze dropped again before she picked her spirits back up and waved to the others. "Good morning guys." Naruto watched her sternly as she turned to Tsunade. "I'll take the report into consideration then." Then Sakura hurried out.

The group was briefed on their mission and then made their way out of the village.

"You and Sakura haven't really spoken since you got back huh?" Naruto said to Sasuke as they journeyed onward.

"We talked on the mission," Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

"But outside of that?" Naruto said. Sasuke ignored him but Naruto recognized the expression of loss on his face; an expression that he, himself, knew all too well. "Sasuke, she used to mean a lot to us. She was our teammate. You can't seriously tell me that you don't miss that?" Sasuke continued to ignore him and began shying away from the group as Kakashi and Sai turned their heads to eavesdrop on their conversation. "Hey, so, Hinata's dad wants to have that dinner soon. Do you mind doing it tonight?"

Sasuke continued to look away, but complied anyway. "Fine."

"Doing it?" Sai said; a perplexed look on his face.

"We're going to a restaurant," Naruto said hurriedly, he knew what kind of joke Sai was about to make.

"A restaurant? So the two of you are finally going on a date?" Sai said; a smile on his face.

Naruto scoffed at the opening he had presented but let it go.

After the mission, Naruto and Sasuke set a rendezvous for their restaurant excursion, and then went their separate ways until the designated time.

**xxxxx**

At seven o'clock Sasuke entered the restaurant. He looked around but didn't see Naruto anywhere.

"Can I help you sir?" A young waitress asked, noticing him scanning the room.

"I'm looking for Naruto Uzumaki," Sasuke said.

"Oh, a table under Uzumaki?" The waitress said. "This way please." She escorted him towards the back of the restaurant, to a section that was heavily romanticized. He was beginning to grow angry with Naruto for setting them up in such a ridiculous area, but the feeling left him when the waitress brought him to a table of two that was already occupied by Sakura. Now, instead of loathing him for being weird, he loathed him for tricking him into an awkward situation.

Sakura gaped at Sasuke once the waitress had led him to the table. Sasuke wanted to leave. He wanted to hunt Naruto down and beat the crap out of him, but he sat down across from Sakura instead.

"I was wondering why Naruto wanted to meet in such a… um… _intriguing _location," Sakura said.

"You can say it. It's romantic," Sasuke said.

"Yes…"

The minutes ticked by and they didn't speak to one another.

The waitress brought them glasses of water before enquiring on their order. They ordered small meals each but didn't place any other drink orders. As they waited for their food, couples coming in and out around them, and their waitress hesitantly asking how things were going, they sat in silence. Sasuke leaned onto the table, his elbow weighing down on it rudely while his chin rested on the palm of his hand; he was staring out the window into the ever darkening night. Sakura's hands rested on her lap and she sat slumped in her chair, watching the flickering fire from the candle that rested on the center of their table.

She had dressed up for the occasion, knowing that the restaurant was relatively fancy. She wore a light pink dress with a black pattern that was held up by strings tied behind her neck. Sasuke was also dressed up, with black slacks, a black button-up shirt, and a red tie.

"You look… nice," Sasuke said, attempting to create conversation.

"Th-thank-you," Sakura said, stumbling over her words, surprised at the compliment. "You do too."

The conversation was short lived, ending before it began. After several more minutes the waitress was back with their dinners. They ate in silence and the waitress seemed weary to approach their table; assuming they were having some terrible fight. To Sakura's surprise, Sasuke picked up the tab. Once the waitress came back to them and handed Sasuke his change, they stood up and left the restaurant.

"I guess I'll walk you home," Sasuke said. It was dark out and the majority of the village had closed themselves in their houses for the night. Sasuke lead the way, walking at a leisurely pace with Sakura several steps behind him.

'_Thank-you Naruto, I see what you've done for me,' _Sakura thought. _'I won't let your effort be in vain.'_

She stopped walking, trying to build up her courage. Sasuke, noticing the lack of her footsteps behind him, stopped as well.

"Sasuke," Sakura began. "I… I still… I still love you…" He stared at her with an expression that she couldn't place.

"I thought you hated me now," he said. "I tried to kill you. I was so distraught and caught up in revenge that I was sure you'd given up on me completely like Karin had."

"Never Sasuke! You mean the world to me!"

"Okay then…" Sasuke said. He turned back around and continued heading towards Sakura's house. "Let's go, I have things I have to do tonight." She began to follow him once more. "Walk closer to me, I'm not a stranger." She hurried to his side and they continued with more silence.

After arriving at her house, Sakura waved goodbye, but Sasuke interrupted her before she could go inside.

"I _have_ missed you," he said. "Maybe… We could try doing this again sometime, only actually converse and whatnot."

"I'd like that," Sakura replied. She said her goodbyes again and entered the house. Once the door was shut, Sasuke raced to Naruto's.

Naruto wasn't home so Sasuke hurried to Hinata's, finding her and Naruto cuddling in the Hyuga gardens.

"Dobe… You blew me off," Sasuke said heatedly.

"Oh yeah sorry, Hinata said she'd help me with the restaurant stuff so I figured I'd just send Sakura along," Naruto said.

"I suppose I'll do you a favor and not kick your ass in front of your girlfriend."

"Ha ha yeah thanks 'bout that."

Sasuke turned back to head home. "Thank-you."

**xxxxx**

**AN: To the Doctor. I hope you like this, for some reason when I read your story prompt I had it in my head that you wanted something soft and silly, but this definitely isn't that… I wanted to try going back to the original Naruto story instead of an AU and I always like trying to keep the characters close to their roots. (Although if we look at that way then Sasuke from W.o.B. makes no sense at all but really that's just how I feel he would have developed if he grew up in the world I made for him.) Back to the point though, I just wanted to focus on a situation that could possibly develop in the NarutoVerse. **

**Anyway I hope everyone liked the one shot :D**

**I'll be working on ssvidel3's one shot next! XD**


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